<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>It's stupid by catcondo</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24429607">It's stupid</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/catcondo/pseuds/catcondo'>catcondo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Half-Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drunken Shenanigans, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Flirting, Fluff, I JUST WANT STUPID JOKES AND KISSES, Just the boys playing video games together and being stupid, Love Confessions, M/M, NO MORE EMOTIONAL TRAUMA PLEASE!!!!, PLEASE STOP WITH THE ANGST, i've had this account for 3 years and this is what i decide to post on it..., lets get this over with</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:48:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,170</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24429607</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/catcondo/pseuds/catcondo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gordon and co. decide to celebrate a little more adult-like after their escape from Black Mesa. Oh, and Benrey's there too by the way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Benrey/Gordon Freeman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>334</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Enemy Encounter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I keep seeing fics about all the trauma Gordon has gone through and how much stress he has now and although that is all very canon and probably how he'd react I'm a simple woman with simple pleasures and messing around is one of them so enjoy :].</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After taking the time to ground himself and wind down at his house for two weeks, Gordon was finally in the right mindset to enjoy his time back in the normal, regular world where there were no aliens trying to kill him and the army wasn’t after him. He got to see Joshua again and spend some quality time with him, which was a huge weight off his chest. He took care of himself and made sure to look presentable to the public. Life had gone back to the way it was. But a nagging voice in the back of his head wouldn’t let him be.</p><p> ‘Go out and visit them’ it would keep saying. And, although Gordon did enjoy the ways of regular life, he did want to hang out with the people he got close to during the Black Mesa train wreck. He missed Coomer’s bright personality and wisdom- and Tommy’s trustworthiness. Hell, he even missed Bubby, although he’d never say that out loud. And even then it wasn’t that big of a deal. He did exchange phone numbers with them all during Tommy’s birthday party, so he could text them at any given moment. But something in him hesitated.</p><p>As he sat on his couch, legs kicked up onto the coffee table and leaning back into the cushions while he stared at the chat box on his phone, his mind raced. Did he really want to talk to them, though? He misses them. He wants to see them again. But it’s not the same- it’ll be awkward between them all. But they could catch up on what they’ve been doing now that they’ve escaped! He decided not to dwell on his nagging fears and text Coomer about it.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:32 pm]: Hey Dr. Coomer. You busy?</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:33 pm]: Hello Gordon! I am not busy in the slightest!</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:34 pm]: I was wondering if- and I know this sounds stupid- we could bring back the science team for a few drinks? At my place?</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:34 pm]: That sounds splendid! Let me ask Bubby if he’d like to come.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:35 pm]: OK, sounds good.</p><p>Gordon stared at his phone for a moment longer before sighing and tossing it lightly on a cushion next to him, deciding to go check if he had enough booze in the fridge already or if he needed to make a quick run to the liquor store- depending on if the others agreed, that is. He opened the fridge and found it void of any and all alcohol. Shit. Looks like he got rid of it before Joshua’s visit for a couple of days. He’ll have to go get some then.</p><p>His phone vibrated from the couch and he closed the fridge door before making his way over and checking it. There was a text from Dr. Coomer, along with one from a random number. Must be some spam message. He checked Dr. Coomer’s first.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:39 pm]: He said yes! Only because there’s alcohol, though.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:40 pm]: Wow. Sounds just like him. Classic Bubby.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:40 pm]: Yes!<br/>
&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:40 pm]: I will ask Tommy now!</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:40 pm]: Woah woah hold on a second. You think he drinks?</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:41 pm]: He’s thirty six Gordon.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:41 pm]: Oh yeah. Right right. I was just saying… you know… he might not want to drink?</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:42 pm]: I do not believe that is the case Gordon! One moment please.</p><p>Gordon tapped impatiently on his phone for a response before remembering about the random number. He opened up the text box, expecting an ad, and read it.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:38 pm]: hey</p><p>Well that was pretty fucking vague. </p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:43 pm]: Uh… heeyyyyy. Who’s this?</p><p>After a moment of staring at the text box and waiting for a response that didn’t come, he got one from Dr. Coomer again.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:45 pm]: He says yes as well! He’s excited to bring Sunkist along. Are you perhaps allergic?</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:46 pm]: No no I’m not allergic to dogs. Dr. Coomer we- we saw Sunkist before. I was there, remember.</p><p>For a second he thought Dr. Coomer decided to end the conversion because he stopped responding, when his phone buzzed again.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:48 pm]: Hello Gordon!</p><p>He exhaled through his nose and shook his head.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:48 pm]: Hey Dr. Coomer.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:49 pm]: When should we meet up?</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:50 pm]: Uhh… 6 pm sound good to you guys?</p><p>Suddenly there was another buzz from his phone. The unknown number texted him again and he ignored it for a bit.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:51 pm]: Sounds good to me! See you there ;).</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:51 pm]: See you.</p><p>He opened the random number’s text box and read it after Dr. Coomer and his conversation ended. He told himself he wouldn’t respond to it because he had to go get some beer for his friends’ arrival, but after reading the contents of the text he quickly erased that promise.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:50 pm]: whats up friend<br/>
&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:50 pm]: hru</p><p>Gordon’s expression was puzzled as he looked at the screen. Friend? He didn’t even have this person saved to his contacts.</p><p>&gt; 5/28/1998 [4:50 pm]: I’m good? You didn’t answer my question… How did you even get my number?</p><p>They stopped responding after that again. Whatever, it doesn’t concern him. He stood up from the couch and walked over to the doorway, grabbing his keys, wallet, and phone before shrugging on a jacket and tossing them into his pockets. He walked out the door to his apartment and down the street, his hair down for once instead of in the ponytail he kept during his ventures in Black Mesa. It was the middle of summer, but there was a cool breeze in the air, and it cooled him down just enough to stop him from sweating from the blazing sun. The liquor store was just around the corner so he didn’t have to travel too far, as well.</p><p>He walked in, inspecting the store for a moment before walking over to the beer aisle. He didn’t buy alcohol often so he wasn’t too accustomed to the layout of the store. The only reason he had beer before Josh arrived was because it was leftover from a party he had at his place before everything went to shit at the facility. He grabbed a case- nothing too expensive- and walked over to the cash register to buy it. As he stood in line he noticed something about the figure standing in front of him that seemed a little too familiar for his liking. He was wearing a black cap, a blue and black bomber jacket and some black jogging pants and… socks with sandals. Gross. But that was the least of his worries. As the person in front of him came up to the register, he listened in on their conversation. Not to be weird- he swore he wasn’t weird. Just curious. That’s all.</p><p>“Let’s see… just some mountain dew and doritos, is that it?” The cashier asked as he scanned the two items on the counter.</p><p>The voice that responded was one Gordon knew all too well, and it sent his blood boiling. It was monotonous and had that annoying lingo to it that actually grew on him when he was in Black Mesa with him. “yeah bro thats all.” The figure handed him a ten and grabbed his snacks before turning to leave. Gordon almost tripped on his way to the cashier with how fast he wanted to catch up to him. He couldn’t just leave the store without paying- but he WAS going to confront him no matter what. And he had to do it FAST, because Benrey was already out the door.</p><p>“Just a case… that’s all yeah?” The cashier replied, and Gordon almost shoved the money into their chest and nodded harshly at them, voicing out a loud ‘MHMM’ with his eyes wide. The cashier looked at him oddly for a moment before sighing out an ‘ooookaayyyy…’ and scanning the item. Gordon quickly sputtered a “KEEP THE CHANGE” before grabbing the beer case and running out the shop, leaving the cashier behind.</p><p>He cradled the case to his chest and swirled around, keeping an eye out for a certain security guard. For a moment he thought he lost him in the crowd and cussed out in frustration. Then he turned around to head back to his place, and saw the familiar black cap poking out from the mass of people. He gave himself two scenarios to work with.</p><p>One, he could run over to him right now and probably bump into a few people along the way. But if he confronted him in the midst of the crowd, Benrey could easily brush him off as some stranger who looked weird. ‘Like a stupid idiot’ a voice said in his head, and Gordon wrinkled his nose slightly. Why was he even here?! They had killed him! After all of that, and he still came back? When will he give the world a rest and stop existing?</p><p>The second option was to follow him until he was in a less crowded area and confront him there. But that would make him look like a stalker. And he wasn’t a stalker. And he would probably get a lot of weird looks from people who happened to be near by listening to whatever conversation that would unfold between the two.</p><p>As he mulled his choices over in his head he lost sight of Benrey in the crowd without even noticing. He was too busy deciding over which situation was less humiliating. But, knowing Benrey, both of them would be equally as humiliating. He was brought back to the present when a cold hand landed on his shoulder. His spine crawled and he turned around to see who had touched him, his mouth in a grimace at the contact, when he came face to face with the person he was pursuing.</p><p>“yooo... good to see you again... uh. feetman.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Sorry not sorry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gordon swore he almost dropped his beer case and punched Benrey in the nose right there and then. Glass would go everywhere. Beer would puddle below their feet. But he didn’t care- he wanted that fucker dead. He shoved his hand off of his shoulder and seethed through his teeth at the man in front of him.</p><p>“What the fuck are you doing heeeree…” Benrey could see the hatred in his eyes. His expression remained as passive as ever, though.</p><p>“listen man.... I heard you were throwing a party and I uh.” He paused for a moment, looking for the right words. “wanted to come early.” </p><p>Gordon’s grip on the cardboard box in his arms tightened and he squinted at him. “No. One. Invited youuuuu. You’re- you’re supposed to be dead, ‘man’! We killed you!” He pressed his lips into a thin line and closed his eyes, exhaling deeply before opening his mouth, not saying anything for a moment, and then speaking. “You know what. You know what? No. I’m not going to deal with this! You don’t exist… you’re just a figment of my imagination. I’m having PTSD or something. I gotta get back home, man....” He turned on his heels and set course back to his apartment, dead set on ignoring anything Benrey had to say. He heard a soft ‘aw… what. yo…..’ behind him and merely scrunched his eyebrows together and kept walking, hoping he’d get bored and leave.</p><p>He counted the seconds in his head as he walked back to his place. The tension in the air was suffocating him. He was just waiting for a sign that Benrey was following him- he knew he was. But there was nothing. He refused to look back, so aside from his physical state, Gordon couldn’t pinpoint if Benrey actually did follow him or not. He couldn’t hear his footsteps behind him or anything. He decided to make up his mind and believe that Benrey was a ghost and that he was now gone. Slowly, the tension faded, and Gordon’s shoulders relaxed. He walked the remainder of the length in silence. </p><p>He safely made it back home with a now damaged beer case. Sighing out of relief, he fished for his keys in his jacket pocket after he set the case on the ground for a moment to open the door, one hand on the doorknob.</p><p>Except his keys weren’t there.</p><p>His eyes widened and he patted all the pockets on his body, shoving his hands in and out of all of them before groaning out in frustration. Great, he had been pick-pocketed. He quickly turned around and looked across the street to see if anyone had been watching him, but the street was empty. It was impossible to retrace his steps, too. The city was huge and was always bustling with people. Defeated, he turned back to the door to his apartments and thought up a plan, going through the options in his head. His windows? No… they were closed. He could always ask the office for a new set, but they’d take a few days to make him a copy. His neighbors? No… He never gave his keys to anyone except his ex. Just as he ran out of options a voice came from behind him.</p><p>“lookin’ for these careless boy?” Gordon whirled around after almost having a heart attack and found Benrey standing on the stairs to his apartment, leaning on the railing, with his keys in one hand. “saw someone take them from you. wasn’t very epic of them. I uh-” He looked up at the sky, once again fishing for the right words, then looked back at Gordon with the same blank expression he always held, “thought maybe you need these. gave him a little oopsie.” He handed the keys to him, and Gordon quickly snatched them from him hand, his grimace returning. </p><p>“Or you could have stolen them yourself to make yourself look like a hero by giving them back to me.” Benrey opened his mouth to say something, looking a little confused, before Gordon interrupted him. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter. Thanks I guess.” He really didn’t want Benrey knowing where he lived. The two of them stood there awkwardly for a moment- Gordon figuring out how to get Benrey away from here and Benrey trying to find the right words to say. Eventually, though, Benrey spoke up again.</p><p>“sooo I came here ‘cuz i uh… yeah so i wanted to come early right. but also i wanted to talk to you for a-” Gordon put his finger up in a ‘hold on’ motion when his phone rang and picked it up, cutting Benrey off.</p><p>“Heeeeeello?” Gordon answered.</p><p>“Ah yes Gordon! We will be arriving in approximately ten minutes! See you soon!” That was Coomer’s voice on the other side. He hung up afterwards. Thank god they’re coming soon. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and turned around, back facing towards Benrey. He decided it didn’t matter if Benrey knew where he lived. They were already there anyway. Opening the door to his apartment, he stepped inside, and begrudgingly let the security guard in as well. He waddled into his kitchen before setting the case in the fridge and turning around to find Benrey flopping down on his couch, staring at him. Alright. If Satan wanted to chill in his house, whatever. But he had to set a few ground rules before they could continue further. He made his way over to the love seat next to the couch and sat on it, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs and breathing in. Benrey only looked at him in passive silence.</p><p>“So. You want to tell me why I can’t fucking kill you or are you just going to avoid that?”</p><p>Benrey’s expression didn’t change, but he looked a little hurt. “aw man c’mon what… why’d you wanna kill me…”</p><p>“Because you’re literally- you-...” Gordon fell silent for a moment and realized Benrey just won’t answer that. “Okay let’s try something else. Why do you think I’d just be okay with you being here? I literally hate you with every fiber of my being.”</p><p>The man in the bomber jacket was silent for a moment. Gordon, defeated, believed he just wasn’t going to answer any of his questions. But then-</p><p>“cuz i- dr coomer and bubby spoke to me after the big show down. after you all left black mesa. you guys left me there an’ i thought i’d be… i heard there was an epic party though so i went to go check it out but i was… late an’...” He fell silent again, gathering his words, but it took awhile. Gordon, surprisingly, didn’t mind. He wanted to hear what he had to say. “an’ dr coomer and bubby saw me outside right. and then they told me about what i was doin’ and like. how it was like. baaaad. and i was like yeah well im just doin’ my job you know…” </p><p>Gordon nodded along to him. That was what he said to them during their fight before they left Black Mesa. He just… wasn’t listening to him.</p><p>“and like you dont listen! to me… when i first met you we were so close bro. we would- hang out after work and play games… and i’d play with josh sometimes. It was dope. you always told me about that stream thing you wanted to do i always thought it was mad cool.” Gordon looked more than a little confused at that. “Wait wait what are you saying- what? I knew you before-” Benrey’s eyes widened and he cut him off, which was something Benrey rarely does. “yo dude let me finish. see thats like the thing you dont listen man you dont hear what i want you to hear. im tryna tell you man… we knew each other. we were best buds. then one day you went crazy. started talking to me like you didn’t know me… started acting mean to me… i keep trying to tell you but you always just talk about how fucked up i am and how you wanna kill me and thats not cool at all thats not what- what best buds do.”</p><p>Gordon opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. Was he… really that rude to him? He closed it and furrowed his eyebrows before leaning on his clasped hands, lost in though. Yeah. Yeah he guesses he was really rude. From the beginning Benrey was just doing his job. And he was just shitting on him for it. But he doesn’t remember the time before his first encounter with him, which is strange. Was that just erased from his memory? Maybe he was just making all this up? He closed his eyes and thought long and hard, trying to come to a decision. He could feel Benrey staring at him as he thought. Throughout that whole confession he sounded pretty heartbroken.</p><p>…</p><p>After a long pause he finally spoke. “Even if you freaked me the fuck out with whatever the hell that boss fight was,” another pause. “Even though I don’t remember us being friends like you say we were. And even though your existence in Black Mesa made mine a living hell. I will admit that yeah, I was really shitty to you. I guess I just- I was just scared. That shit was scary as fuck Benrey. I don’t know how immortal you are, but I sure as hell am not. I could have died at any second. I was terrified and I guess I just used you as a punching bag.” </p><p>Gordon opened his eyes to see an expression on him he’s never seen before. He was genuinely relieved and happy, the sides of his eyes wrinkling as his smile grew into a grin. Not a cheeky grin- an honest, happy grin. “so youre apologizing…?” Benrey mumbled that out like it was almost intangible but Gordon could hear it. He nodded. “Yes. I am. Not for everything. But for most things. And,” His expression became a little tender as he reached his arm out for Benrey to shake, “If it’ll make you happy, then we can… try being friends again. I still can’t remember us being friends or knowing each other before I saw you in the halls but I’m willing to give it another go.”</p><p>Benrey looked at him, shocked, for a long time. His grin dropped and his mouth formed an ‘o’ as he processed Gordon’s words. Then, without warning, he skipped the handshake and leaned forward and enveloped Gordon in a hug.</p><p>Gordon didn’t know what to do with his hands. He wasn’t sure how to respond to the physical contact, so he settled setting the palms of his hands on his back gently. He was surprisingly very cold. There was very little body heat coming from him, and even as his hands gently gripped Gordon’s torso he couldn’t feel any warmth from them. "you mean it bro....?" Gordon chuckled a little. “Yeah man I mean it.” Benrey’s hug only tightened in response, but not too tight. He can’t believe he was hugging the man who he had hated not a few minutes prior. But honestly? It was nice. Actually, it was really nice. He didn’t mind staying that way for a while, although he still didn’t hug back.</p><p>Benrey eventually detached himself from him and took back his place on the couch. He seemed to go back to his stoic self, but Gordon could see a little glint of happiness in his eyes. His mouth was just slightly upturned, too. That’s nice. Thank god he didn’t say anything stupid while they hugged.</p><p>“your hair smells nice bro.” Annnddd there it goes. </p><p>“Hey! Why are you smelling my hair? Gross eww eww gross don’t ever do that.” Benrey’s small smile only turned into his signature wide smirk at that. What a bastard.</p><p>Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Gordon assumed it was the gang and stood up slowly, heading to it. The barking of a dog behind it and the words ‘shhh sunkist!’ from a familiar voice only made him pick up the pace and swing the door open, grinning at the three amigos and their dog.</p><p>“Hey you guys!”</p><p>“Hello, Gordon!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>its not done yet!!! it might sound like its done but we've got one or two more chapters to go :]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Good friends(?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The three guests made their way into the apartment space, Sunkist immediately running around and greeting both Gordon and Benrey. With how heavy he was, Gordon had to lean all his weight forward to not topple over as Sunkist licked his face and slobbered all over him. “Ewww awww come on Sunkist!” He gently nudged the large dog off of him, and that was Sunkist’s queue to greet Benrey. He jumped up, putting his weight onto his chest and licking his face as well. The man didn’t even flinch or move, just waiting until he finished his greeting and patting his head, mumbling a ‘good to see you too baby boy’ before the dog hobbled back to his owner’s side and sat next to him. </p><p>Tommy had taken a chair at the dining table, picking up a scientific newspaper that was near the door and lightly reading it. He greeted Gordon with a cheerful ‘Hi Mr. Freeman!’ before doing so, of course. Dr. Coomer was sitting criss-cross on the ground in front of the couch, with Bubby on the other side of the couch from where Benrey was sitting. Coomer was telling Bubby about something, to which Bubby was nodding to and concidering, giving feedback on, and sometimes complimenting. Gordon took in the sight of his friends all hanging around together again from his spot at the kitchen. A soft smile grew on his lips at the scene. He really missed these guys. He let himself be soft for a moment and just appreciate them all coming here.</p><p>Then Dr. Coomer’s voice snapped him back to the present. “Gordon those bottles won’t bring themselves!” He exclaimed from where he was on the floor. Gordon nodded, muttering a ‘Right. On it.’ before opening the fridge and taking the beer case out. He closed the door and sauntered back into the living room, offering each person a bottle. Benrey asked for two, to which Gordon shook his head and said he’d have to get through one first. Lame. </p><p>He sat in the middle of Bubby and Benrey on the couch, leaning back into the cushion and sighing before popping a bottle open. They sat there and just spoke to each other, like they had during their adventures in Black Mesa, although this time without death hovering over their heads. Benrey took out a game from his jacket pocket and handed it to Gordon, and he was very surprised it was for the only console he had. </p><p>“Super Mario 64? Realy?” Gordon looked over at Benrey, who was looking at him expression-less. “Okayyy fine fine.” He popped the game into his Nintendo 64 and booted it up. Benrey’s face lit up once he saw the Mario face on the screen. “hey hey bro heh check this out grab his nose.” Gordon only rose an eyebrow at him and did what he was told, grabbing ahold of the 3D model of Mario’s nose. “now pull it.” He pulled the nose, and it extended to where his cursor was. “What the fuck.” Gordon mused, doing the same to his eyes and mustache and chin. “Oh my god this is insane.” Benrey grinned over at him, excitement in his eyes. “I know right dude its pretty epic.”</p><p>“I’m really glad you guys are here.” Gordon finally said, looking around the room. Coomer was now leaning his back against Bubby’s leg, looking over at Gordon and smiling. “I too am glad that we are together!” He rose his beer up and Gordon clanked his bottle with the others before taking a swig. “It’s nice to just relax after all the shit we’ve been through.” Gordon replied. Tommy pipped up from his spot at the dining table. “Yeah Mr. Freeman. We should all go to Dunkin Donuts sometime!” Gordon’s mouth twisted at the idea of a Coolatta, to which Benrey jabbed him with the side of his elbow and muttered a ‘c’mon man’. “...Yeah Tommy. We could all grab something from there in a bit.” Tommy’s eyes brightened at that.</p><p> </p><p>Gordon handed the controller to Benrey, who gladly took it from his hands and created a new file before starting the game. There was already a file on the world select before that which had the 100% completion sign below the star. Interesting. Bubby seemed interested in the game, telling Benrey to do a few back flips with Mario here and there and asking for the controller on occasion. “Let me show you how a real gamer plays” he would say, and immediately get hurt by an enemy. Coomer would suppress a chuckle at his friend’s ego every time.</p><p>Time flew by, and eventually they made it to the haunted house level with two bottles of beer left. Gordon had drank two or three- who knows, he wasn’t counting. Coomer had settled for only one, and Bubby surprisingly was on his fourth, but Gordon forbid him from drinking more. Tommy had also only downed one bottle, and Benrey was on his third. Gordon had the controller at this point and was determined to do the entire level, each star. But as he entered the first level a horrible terror came over him. “Oh christ,” He mused, rotating the camera around Mario. “This level sucks ass. Oh fuck.” Bubby only snorted at him. “What’s wrong? Are you perhaps a coward, Gordon? Always knew you were!” He snickered to himself, and Coomer lightly hit his knee.</p><p>“What! No- fuck you guys I can fuckin’ do this. I survived mother fucking Black Mesa! I’m not scared of anything!” Gordon leaned forward in concentration as he continued through the level. Man, was it creepy. All the weird noises coming from the enemies and the strange carnival music coming from the basement... it freaked him out. A near-death encounter with three boo’s inside the haunted house almost gave him a heart attack. Benrey chuckled from beside him. “aww does wittle mr feetman have a fear of boogie woogies?” Gordon laughed at him, although without wanting to. “No no-” “is gordon feetman scared of the tiny winy ghostie wosties?” He laughed harder at that and pushed Benrey slightly, whiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “No! Benrey oh my god ‘tiny winy’.” His laughter died down as he continued playing, the rest of the gang looking at him intently. They knew what was coming soon. They were all waiting for his reaction. Gordon, of course, always had the best reactions. Benrey was smiling warmly at him for once after the light push he gave him, a warm feeling creeping onto his cheeks.</p><p>He walked into a room on the left of the main entrance and was met with a simple room with a piano in the far right corner. Gordon heard a small ‘heh’ next to him from both Bubby and Benrey and squinted his eyes as he looked between the two. “You two know something I don’t…” Benrey only smirked at him. Bubby responded with a mysterious “You’ll just have to wait and see I guess. Keep playing!” </p><p>Gordon, now drunk, apprehensively started towards the center of the room. He continued a forward a little more. And then…</p><p>BAM BAM BAM BAM.</p><p>The piano in the corner started jumping up and down with teeth protruding from its cover that was bouncing with it. It jumped over to Mario, making the sound of when someone banged haphazardly onto its keys as it went, and Gordon almost threw the remote in the air in fear as he screamed and ran out to the main room in the game.</p><p>The whole room got a good laugh at that. Bubby was cackling, with Coomer chuckling on the ground. Benrey was holding his sides in pain with laughter. Even Tommy smiled a little, though he was more concerned about if Gordon was okay after that ordeal. “Are you alright Mr. Freeman?” His voice sounded through the laughter in the room. Gordon was holding his head in his hands before he asked, and waved a hand at him dismissively before picking up the remote again. “I hate you guys.” He grumbled, but the others just kept on laughing.</p><p>Eventually the sun had set, as well as the beer. Benrey and Gordon were still drunk, and Bubby was going ham. He had the controller now and refused to give it to anyone else, talking endlessly about what was happening in the game. Every minute there was a “Did you see that!” “Holy shit I am AMAZING” “LOOK AT THAT” or “You guys have NOTHING on me” coming from Bubby as he continued playing. Coomer had moved from his position next to Bubby and was now sitting with Tommy at the dining table. They were currently talking about science- something about the potentials of nuclear fission and Chernobyl. Benrey had gone to watching the game to watching Gordon, which Gordon thankfully did not notice, because he was too busy hyping up Bubby. Each time Bubby did a sick flip or finished a level he would yell out a “LETS GOOOOO” or “THATS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT BUBBY”.</p><p>Eventually, though, Coomer stood up and announced that Tommy was getting tired. Sunkist hadn’t moved away from Tommy’s side the entire time as well. Bubby didn’t listen, and continued playing, but Coomer came over and dragged him away from the couch with the controller still in his hand. Bubby struggled and yelled “Nooooooooooooooooo!!!”, as he was in the middle of a level. But eventually he paused it, and half-heartedly left the remote on the couch. “It’s time to go you rowdy man.” Coomer pointed out. The three of them stood by the door and Gordon bid them farewell, waving at them as they left for the night. </p><p>As the door closed behind them he smiled to himself. He had a great time with them- he was really glad he did this. There was no sound coming from the TV as it was on the pause menu at the moment, so he enjoyed the peace and quiet after the party.</p><p>He felt a finger poke his side. Opening one eye and grumbling, he looked over at Benrey, who stayed with him. He was in the laziest position he’d ever seen- legs kicked out in front of him, melting into the couch like he was about to fuse with it, chin touching his chest and neck non-existent. “are you gonna uhh.. continue playing, friend?” He asked, pointing to the remote next to him. Gordon looked over at it and picked it up before handing it to Benrey. Benrey hadn’t played since the beginning, only doing the intro level. He though he’d liked to play again. “Nah. How about you continue where Bubby left off dude.” Benrey looked at him for a moment before taking the controller from him and pressing ‘continue’, mumbling a ‘thanks bro’. They sat there in silence for a moment. Gordon watched Benrey play. Benrey wasn’t really paying attention to the game. They were both just aware of the other.</p><p>Then, Gordon spoke up, leaning onto his side and putting some of his weight on the cushion next to him to get more comfortable. “You know, I used to love aliens.” He mused, still looking at the screen. Benrey’s eyes snapped over to him. “I used to think they were really fucking cool. Like really cool. I was obsessed with them as a kid. Working at Black Mesa was actually really fun for me before all that happened.” His head turned towards Benrey, who was looking at him with an unreadable expression. “Now I hate them. But what can you do, I guess.” He sighed out his mouth and turned back to the screen. </p><p>Benrey was silent for a moment before speaking up. “you don’t gotta hate them.”</p><p>Gordon looked over at him again, confusion written on his face. Benrey continued. “yo listen. there are so many cool aliens. you know when you were back in Black Mesa i thought you looked just like doom guy. fuckinn’.... blastin all those head crabs and shiz…. was cool.” Gordon smiled at him, though his eyebrows were still scrunched. “You thought I looked like Doom guy?” Benrey nodded. “yeah brooo it was awesome.” </p><p>Gordon let out a small ‘huh’ in amusement before looking back at the screen. “Woahhh big ol’ Benrey though I had buldging abs and my HEV suit was RIPPED as FUCK. Thought I was the epitamy of the male form.” He laughed at his own joke, and Benrey did too. “naw man... “</p><p>They fell back into silence, this time not as awkward. It was… really nice. Benrey was someone that Gordon had been completely wrong about and… he caught himself thinking he was glad he was wrong. Without thinking he vocalized that. “You’re a pretty cool dude Benrey.” After a pause, he added on, “maybe even cooler than Doom Guy.” </p><p>Gordon didn’t look at him, just at the screen, and Benrey was thankful for that because the red on his face grew darker, and not from being drunk. “bro....” He smiled again, this time for a bit longer. He really missed hanging out with him.</p><p>It was currently 12 am on the dot, and Benrey had just finished the last level of the snow-y penguin world. He stopped the game, and looked over at Gordon. He didn’t even realize the other fell asleep. He was hunched over which his arms crossed. That was how he slept back in Black Mesa. He watched him for a moment, face yet again expressionless. Maybe more than a moment but who’s counting. Then, he turned off the game and set the remote aside before leaning on his side with his head, closing his eyes. That was fine- they’d wake up and forget everything in the morning. But for now he just enjoyed the other’s presence. The last thing he heard before he fell asleep was Gordon beginning to snore.

His little crush was pretty stupid, yeah. Maybe he'd tell him one day. But today he was too scared to, and just enjoyed the time together.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>im not sure! if this is the end! maybe we'll have a 'the morning after' chapter, but i dont really have any ideas for it. I WILL be making another story though, so stay tuned for that :]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>